This photo also was taken at my house neigbouring place. This week in Matsuyama the so-called autum festivals are to be held across the city.
But why do you think are they held around this season? I think you will guess the answer correctly.・・・・・・ Yes, that's right. It is related to the rice cropping. Being able to crop the rice and get a good harvest of it have long been a critical thing for people in Japan. Rice farming has been a mainstay in Japan's agriculture, which has been a major, most important industry for a long time in its history.
People have had a custom to pay their respects at a shrine located in their community, of course , with a newly harvested rice.
This custom has led to the mikoshi, which is a portable shrine. In the mikoshi, the spirit of a deity of a shrine temporarily reposes. And the mikoshi is carried on the shoulders of people wearing happi coats.
The photo was about shimenawa. The shimenawa is originally a rice -straw rope, but today the most of it is made of plastic. And it is decorated with strips of cut and folded white paper. It is a kind of purification. It is considered to ba a barrier agaist evil spirits. So, the place enclosed by this rope and strips of paper is a purified place. And a portable shrine will pass through these areas on people's shoulders with the voice of "wasshoi,wasshoi."
But why do you think are they held around this season? I think you will guess the answer correctly.・・・・・・ Yes, that's right. It is related to the rice cropping. Being able to crop the rice and get a good harvest of it have long been a critical thing for people in Japan. Rice farming has been a mainstay in Japan's agriculture, which has been a major, most important industry for a long time in its history.
People have had a custom to pay their respects at a shrine located in their community, of course , with a newly harvested rice.
This custom has led to the mikoshi, which is a portable shrine. In the mikoshi, the spirit of a deity of a shrine temporarily reposes. And the mikoshi is carried on the shoulders of people wearing happi coats.
The photo was about shimenawa. The shimenawa is originally a rice -straw rope, but today the most of it is made of plastic. And it is decorated with strips of cut and folded white paper. It is a kind of purification. It is considered to ba a barrier agaist evil spirits. So, the place enclosed by this rope and strips of paper is a purified place. And a portable shrine will pass through these areas on people's shoulders with the voice of "wasshoi,wasshoi."
